Winwick Street

Winwick Street, early morning, Saturday 3 August 1974

The Winwick Street booklet is based on an imaginary walk starting at the junction with Scotland Road and finishing beyond the Horse and Jockey. It includes information on Central Station, St John's church, St Ann's church, local tanneries, Silver Street School, the Ladies School and the Bluecoat School and many other places of interest. 61 pages, illustrated with drawings, maps and photographs. Published 2005. ISBN 1 901208 15 X.

Westminster Bank from the end of Bewsey Street, April 1980. The 'Old Bank' operated from a large house here owned by the Lyon family. This was replaced in 1877 by the present building which features a magnificent High Victorian banking hall with columns, stained glass and chandelier.

The perils of photography. Having taken a while to focus the camera, set the shutter speed and decide on a suitable exposure, I was about to click the shutter release only to find a car was pulling out in front of me! and it was the last of my 12 exposures. Tuesday 12 April 1973. The building to the right of the bank was the office of Mr Blackburne's land agent where rents would be paid. A large room on the first floor in all probablility served as the town's manor court until a new courtroom was provided in Irlam Street. The portrit of John Blackburne, referred to in the booklet, seems to have been painted not here but at Orford Hall with the heated glasshouses seen through the window.

Looking under Central Station bridge towards the Midland Hotel on Thursday 20 June 1974. The pub and adjoining buildings were removed for the new A57 expressway.

Set of three Georgian houses opposite Crown Street. The centre one, dating from around 1760, must have been an imposing house originally, before conversion to shops and rendering of the brick facade. These were also removed for the new A57 road. Taken with an Agfa box camera, Sunday 7 October, 1973.

The same buildings from the rear once demolition has begun. Thursday 22 June 1995

All traces have now been obliterated and a swathe cut through for the new road. August 1995

The end of platform 1 Central Station showing the wooden contraption used for maintenance of the canopy and lamps. Wycliffe church in the distance. March 1979

Refurbished diesel multiple unit awaiting its next duty in the sidings. In the background is the remaining block of Cockhedge spinning mill. A twin block to the left had recently been destroyed by fire. View from Central Goods yard. Saturday 10 October 1981

Breakdown crane in front of the warehouse on the same day

Crown Street, 1977. The lamps on the viaduct are for the locomotive stabling point alongside the down platform buildings.

The old viaduct will be used for the new road and the arches extended into Crown Street. Sunday 18 June 1995

Similar view showung the new arches on Sunday 1 April 2012

View from the Legh Street multi-storey car park of a Liverpool bound train leaving Central Station and passing a number of old buildings which found themselves in the path of the new A57 Midland Way. 17 September 1986

A similar train departing from Central a month earlier, seen crossing Bewsey Street. The slide was taken from a similar position but with a longer lens. This shot shows the old goods offices in front of the Cheshire Lines warehouse before they were refurbished. August 1986

Another casualty of the new A57 was Grade II listed Heath House, a pair of Georgian houses on Bewsey Street. Following a public enquiry consent was given for demolition, but it was stipulated that the key materials must be retained to enable a reconstruction on another site. September 1995

View up Allen Street taken from the Golden Square shopping centre close to the bus station, July 1984

The Old Blue Back was on the corner of Allen Street. It stood in the way of the new A57. July 1980

The King's Head, listed Grade II. The 18th and early 19th century houses set it off nicely. These have now gone, allowing a car park to be extended. Photo taken 1991.

Rear of the old houses by the King's Head. 1991.

The large building on the right was Tanner's music shop, selling pianos and other instruments and of course records. Sunday 25 June 1995

Beech House, 31A Winwick Street on Sunday 7 October, 1973. In the nineteenth century James Edelsten, of the Warrington pin making family, lived here. The house was probably built around 1810.

Sunday 3 January 1993

Although a restoration programme was drawn up after consultation with English Heritage, the Grade II listed Beech House was suddenly demolished at the end of 2001. Sunday 16 December 2001

Across the road from Beech House were two other listed buildings: the Bay Horse and a group of three cottages. These were all demolished without planning consent in February 2005. The local authority prosecuted and the firm responsible was fined £8,000 per listed building and costs, amounting to a total of £16,500. Photographed in 1991

The listed buildings were removed allowing a car park to be extended. A similar view on Sunday 18 March 2012

Row of small shops to the north of Foundry Street. The Old Ball and the Tetley Walker brewery can also be seen. Sunday 18 June 1995

A similar view on Sunday 18 March 2012. A car park has replaced the shops.

Rear of old houses on Winwick Street. 1995.

Old tannery building, behind Winwick Street. 1995

Old tannery buildings, Foundry Street. 1995.

Winwick St Chapel and tannery, late 1975. On the ground floor of the tannery can be seen the entrance and windows of the former Edelsten's pin factory which was built at the end of the garden of Edlesten's Beech House, seen in an earlier photgraph. In 1841 around 50 girls worked in the pin sheeting room. As well as the windows seen here there was additional lighting from skylights and in winter the child workers had the added luxury of a stove! St John's chapel, which gave its name to the adjacent street, was completed in 1808 and in its centenary year was replaced by a new church on Wilderspool Causeway.

The Old Ball on Monday 25 August 1997. The pub was demolished the following year for a car sales area.

Opposite the Old Ball was the fine eighteenth century house seen here from the rear. At one period it too was a pub, called the New Golden Ball. The narrow street running along the side of the building is the end of Turner Street. The building was demolished in the late 1980s. This is now the entrance to the car park for furniture, carpet and DIY stores. Photo taken August 1984

The Lord Rodney, September 1975. The old pub stood close to the roundabout, in front of the present building. When the interior was opened out a single entrance was created in the centre, as seen in the photograph below.

The Rodney now has a single central doorway and the roundabout has lost its flowers. 13 September 2009

Tanners Lane, July 1992. These old tannery buildings which gave the street its name have now been removed

Silver Street, showing the former Methodist School. The site was cleared in 1995 (not, as the booklet erroneously says, in 1990). Sunday 9 October 1994

The Silver Street site is now a car showroom. Sunday 1 April 2012

Winwick Road frontage of the brewery, seen from Oliver Street. The Tesco petrol station and car park is now here. Sunday 9 October 1994

Similar view on Sunday 1 April 2012

Opposite the brewery was the Co-op hall. The Co-op complex was built on the site of the Warrington Bluecoat School. This was bought by PLP motors, the site cleared and a car dealership opened. The original PLP showroom, in Winwick Street next to the King's Head, can be seen on the main photograph at the beginning of this section. July 1992

St Ann's from Bluecoat Street. The photograph was taken in the early morning, around 6.30am, on my way home from work on the night shift. Saturday 3 August 1974. The church was closed and in 1996 became a climbing centre.

Pair of Georgian houses near the junction with Foundry Street. When the houses were combined, a matching doorway to the one seen but on the opposite end was bricked up and only rediscovered when the building was demolished. A photograph of the building during demolition may be seen in the previous section. Thursday 22 June 1995

The same building seen from the rear on Thursday 20 Setember 1973. This and the other black and white pictures of Bewsey Street which follow were all taken with a pre-war Agfa box camera.

The southern end of the Bewsey Street terraces. Thursday 20 September 1973

Georgian terrace where William Beamont and Gilbert Wakefield llived. September 1995

Looking along Edgworth Street, Sunday 20 July 1973

Iron gate by the church on Edgeworth St. April 1980

Wycliffe school hall was built in a neo-Norman style to match the original church. This has now gone. April 1980

The upper levels of Wycliffe church and tower were demolished in 1984

Looking up the tower. April 1980

Georgian doorway with attractive fanlight, once quite common in the town centre. Sunday 9 October 1994

House at the corner of Bewsey Street and Tanners Lane, with neatly cut privets. Thursday 20 September, 1973

Rolleston Street. This area has now been redeveloped with modern housing and the church tower has gone. Monday 5 August 1974

Looking into Bewsey Street during the demolition of Wycliffe church tower. summer 1984

Closer view of the house on the corner. Note the long chimney stack with ten pots! June 1996

Row of picturesque houses on Froghall Lane. Frog Hall was on the south side by the railway bridge. Sunday 9 October 1994

Looking out onto Bewsey Road from St Paul's churchyard, July 1980

West end of St Paul's. Built in 1829-30 to relieve pressure at St Elphin's, the church was given an independent parish in 1841. The final service was held on Christmas Eve 1979 and the empty building was finally demolished in the winter of 1984-5. The burial ground still exists and sheltered housing has been built on the site of the church. July 1980

St Paul's and Gladstone St backs in the winter of 1978-79

The tower of the doomed church reflected in a puddle, 1984

By early 1985 the process of demolition is well under way.

Nave window from inside the church

Another wintry view. This time of a southbound multiple unit seen from the footpath between Bewsey Road and Froghall bridges. The train is about to pass under the Warrington Central line. On the right is the Whitecross Wire Ropes factory. This was demolished in August 1986. Slide taken early 1981

The Grove on Bewsey Road is nearly 200 years old and has a long and interesting history. Probably built by John Pickmore, a wine dealer of Bridge Street, whose house and shop, later known as Drews, can be seen in the Bridge Street section. It later became a public house. A new Roman Catholic secondary school was to be built here but it was eventually constructed on Poplars Avenue. Thursday 2 February 1995

Opposite the Grove was a miscellaneous collection of early 19th century houses. April 1980

Early to mid nineteenth century house at the end of Pitt Street built in a late classical style, similar to some in Bold Street which date from 1850. Listed Grade II. Photograph taken Thursday 2 February 1995

The Dolphin Hotel, originally one of a pair of Regency houses, built in 1825. Thursday 2 February 1995

Part of Bewsey Terrace (listed Grade II) was converted to the Bewsey Tavern. Thursday 2 February 1995

Interesting buildings on Bewsey Road, dating from around 1860. Thursday 2 February 1995

The Imperial, Bewsey Road. The two gables were originally much more ornate but were rebuilt in a simpler style. Photograph taken Thursday 2 February 1995

Bewsey Lodge, Thursday 22 September 1994. This was built as the lodge for Bewsey New Hall in 1860 in a matching black and white style.

The Grade II* Bewsey Old Hall, which stands on the moated site of the home of the medieval lords of Warrington. Their great hall extended from the doorway towards the camera. The whole of the moated area is a scheduled Ancient Monument. The present hall dates from the late Tudor and Jacobean period. The wing on the right was a later addition and was recently badly damaged by fire. Taken from the north, Monday evening 18 July 1994

The west wing which was badly damaged by fire in 2011. Wednesday 19 June 1996

The east front of the hall, on the morning of Thursday 27 July 1995

The south-east corner of the old hall showing the building phases. The top storey was probably added later, then extended out towards the camera. A blocked doorway on the top floor indicates an intention to extend further south. Thursday 22 September 1994

View of the hall from the south-west, on a beautiful sunny evening, Thursday 27 July 1995. There was a separate chapel which formerly stood close to the hall in the centre of the picture.

Substantial renovations were carried out to the hall by Warrington New Town which involved guting the building, replacing large areas of brickwork in the interior and installation of concrete reinforcements. As can be seen from this shot of the room on the north east corner of the first floor, the interior is still without ceilings and wall finishes. Thursday 20 June 1996

The room above the one in the previous picture, on the north east corner of the second floor, has a section of original plaster which was left in situ as it was covered with deloicate hand painted decoration of the 17th century. Thursday 20 June 1996

Dorrway leading to a room on the second floor where it is believed James I may have slept when he stayed at Bewsey. Thursday 25 August 1994

Painted decoration on the other side of the doorframe. Thursday 25 August 1994

Remaining part of the orginal Walker's 1874 brewery, Dallam Lane. The brewery complex was demolished to make way for a Tesco store, car park and rugby stadium. Slide taken Friday 24 July 1998

Brewery offices, Dallam Lane. Friday 24 July 1998

In March 1971 a shunter brings a short train down the Dallam branch.

Grim industrial view down the Dallam Lane branch line, June 1980, from the crossing leading to the steel works entrance. The grain wagons are destined for Walker's brewery. All the buildings in this view have now disappeared.

This old wagon turntable was used for bringing wagons across Dallam Lane in and out of Hope Mill and later Walker's Brewery. Horses were originally used for this. !980.

Old forge buildings, Dallam Lane, June 1980

The steelworks was demolished in 1985

Looking across the former Marson Street sidings towards Dallam Lane brewery in 1979.

Corner of Dallam Lane and Tanners Lane where the level crossing was. May 1980

There is still a post from the level crossing gates on the corner of the Three Pigeons, just to the left of the figure. The building has a number of phases but mainly dates from around 1800. Photograph taken June 1996

Old 18th century maltings on Dallam Lane. The building on the extreme left was also an early eighteenth century maltings and was used as an early Methodist chapel. The old section of wall on the right was part of the Warrington and Newton Railway's 1831 passenger terminus. It was later used as a goods shed and was largely demolished around 1970. Photograph taken in May 1980

The 250 year old maltings have now gone, to be replaced by the buildings seen here. Sunday 18 March 2012

Rear of the Dallam Lane maltings. It was the owner of the maltings, Thomas Rimmer, who built the row of houses on the east side of Bewsey Street. Here we see the interior flooring which has been removed. This interesting eighteenth century industrial building, as we see from the previous photo, has now been demolished. May 1980

The corner of Foundry St and Dallam Lane, June 1980. On the left corner there was a pair of cottages which were converted from the booking office and board room of the Warrington and Newton Railway Company, which in turn had been converted from an old chapel. Along Foundry Street can be seen the former Smethurst's foundry which gave the street its name. To the right of the gateway, out of picture, there was once an eighteenth century terrace similar to those on Bewsey Street around the corner. This survived till about 1970. All the buildings seen here have now been demolished.

the end of Foundry Street looking towards Winwick Street, Sunday 3 January 1993